Crew Review: Baratza Sette 270W

This entry was posted on November 28, 2016 by Felicia Kloewer.

How Does It Compare?

After months of weighty anticipation, Baratza released the Baratza Sette 270W and 270 in late October 2016. We know there’s a lot of you still waiting for their grinder, so while you wait, check out this updated review on the Baratza Sette 270W.

Sporting the same grinding speed, efficiency and ergonomic design, the Baratza Sette 270W and Sette 270 are cut from the same cloth. It’s the inside of the Sette 270W that's different—Baratza outfitted the Sette 270W container/portafilter holder with the same weighing technology used in the Acaia scales, one of our most innovative scales.

On top of the Baratza Sette 270W being equipped with Acaia technology, it flaunts Bluetooth technology to monitor grind sessions, weights and settings, to improve coffee connoisseurs grind technique.

The Baratza Sette 270W grind by weight and features the weighing technology found in Acaia scales.

Updated Design

After some setbacks—we know there’s a pun in there—that pushed the release date, you’re probably wondering: what has Baratza changed?

One: Updated portafilter hook design stabilizes while grinding.

The original design was hooked and went over the lip of the portafilter. The new crescent moon design has a wider surface area shaped to the portafilter to secure it in place. If you’ve ever lost your freshly ground coffee because the portafilter vibrated right off the holder, this new design eliminates that problem.

Two: Updated container/portafilter holder arms cradle devices.

The Sette 270W's original, thinly padded arms caused the portafilter to vibrate and led to inaccurate weight dosing. The new design features thicker padding cradles devices—V60, portafilters, containers—to reduce the vibrations.

The only problem we’ve encounter is the thicker arms and portafilter hook are difficult to secure with different portafilter shapes. Smaller portafilters have taller baskets that don’t secure in the portafilter holder perfectly. A quick fix is to adjust the portafilter hook to the height of your device.

Updated padding on the arms help stabilize portafilters and other containers during grinding.

Scale Sensor Accuracy

While taking the Baratza Sette 270W for a spin, we noticed that there was some variance from our programmed weight and the final weight. To put it in context, we programmed 18-grams of coffee and noticed the final weight was actually 18.5-grams. We tested our Sette 270W and noticed fluctuations anywhere between 0.3 and 0.5 grams.

That said, while our set dose was a little inconsistent, the scales weight after grinding was spot on. The Sette 270W's final weight always matched the reading on one of our Hario scales.

Pro Tip: When using the Sette 270W, make sure your container is suspended in the air. The weight-sensor tares the device’s weight and measures the coffee grounds.

Innovative Design

Designed with 40mm steel conical burrs and a horizontally mounted motor, the Baratza Sette 270W’s innovative design grinds directly from the hopper into your portafilter. The redesign eliminates coffee grounds static and clogged chutes, which we’re sure all espresso lovers have struggled with.

The innovative design also increased the Sette 270W’s speed and grind efficiency. It can grind 3.5 to 5.5 grams per seconds—seriously! We set up one of the Sette 270W three programmable weight-based buttons for 18-grams and it took us under five seconds to finish. Baratza also included a manual option to grind on the fly.

And we should mention the Baratza Sette 270W design inspired the name—sette in Italian is seven.

The Sette 270W features programmable weigh-based grinding.

Brewing Methods

Outfitted with a stepped macro and stepless micro settings, the Baratza Sette 270W is effortless to dial in for French press or espresso. We can’t stress enough how convenient the micro stepless settings are for dialing in espresso! While pulling shots with our Sette 270W, only tweak the micro settings to achieve the perfect shot. And while it’s stepless, it still has marked settings to give home baristas a ballpark for adjusting between brew methods.

The design also makes it convenient to place your V60 or portafilter under the grinder. The convertible portafilter holder opens wide enough for 3.50-inch container and has a max clearance of 5.75-inches. As we mentioned earlier, the new portafilter arms create a tight fit, so squeeze in your container for a secure fit!

Conclusion

Both the Baratza Sette 270W and 270 are outfitted with the same hardware and innovative design that increased the grinding speed and efficiency. But the Sette 270W includes Acaia’s weighing technology and Bluetooth technology to improve home barista’s grinding technique over time.